Grey limestone panel, a fragment from a larger frieze, depicting a procession of six female figures. The most important figure in this group, probably an aristocratic lady, is depicted on a larger scale and with more space around her, indicating her significance. She stands with her right arm outstretched and palm flexed, while the left hand holds a lotus-shaped offering bowl to her waist. Her head is shown in three-quarter profile, and, like the other heads, is finely carved and in higher relief than the rest of the figure. Her square face, with arched eyebrows and well-defined nose and lips, terminates in a pointed chin. Her hair is neatly dressed in a double chignon. She is accompanied by five smaller figures, one to her left and four to her right, arranged in an overlapping row. Their oval faces are carved with arched eyebrows and downcast eyes, and their mouths set in a half-smiling, gentle expression. The attendants are differentiated by their hairstyles – some have double topknots, others have single buns. One of the figures holds a bowl to her waist, while another has her hands clasped inside her sleeves. All the figures wear loose robes, with full sleeves, and lapels forming a V-shape at the front and, in some cases, fastened with a wide band at the chest. Carved behind the figures are the handle of a fan, the upper part of which is missing, and a dangling tassel, probably from a parasol, which would have been held over the main figure. Traces of red, blue and yellowish pigments remain on the dark grey stone.

Provenance:

Gongxian cave temples, Henan province, Cave 1, south-west corner.

Hashimoto Kansetsu, Kyoto.

Exhibited:

Nagoya, no date, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art.

Osaka, 1966, Osaka Municipal Museum of Art.

Osaka, 1976, Osaka Municipal Museum of Art.

Osaka, 1995, Osaka Municipal Museum of Art.

Published:

Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, ‘Toyo Bijutsu Bunka’, (Oriental Art Culture), Nagoya, n.d., page 28, bottom right photograph.

Seiichi Mizuno, ‘Chinese Stone Sculpture’, Mayuyama and Co., Tokyo, 1950, plate 8, number 16.

Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, ‘Chinese Stone Buddha Images’, Kyoto, 1953, page 6, number 13.

M. Sato, ‘Chugoku No Dogu’, (Chinese Earthenware Figures), Tokyo, 1965, page 40, number 23.

Yuzo Sugimura and Burton Watson, ‘Chinese Sculpture, Bronzes, and Jades in Japanese Collections’, Tokyo and Honolulu, 1966, sculpture plates 12 - 13.

Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, ‘Chugoku Bijutsu Gosen-nen Ten’, (Exhibition of 5000 Years of Chinese Art), Osaka, 1966, page 8, figure 2-20.

Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, ‘Rikucho No Bijutsu’, (Arts of the Six Dynasties), Tokyo, 1976, number 215.

Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, ‘Rikucho No Bijutsu’, (Arts of the Six Dynasties), (Chinese Art Exhibition Series No. 2), Osaka, 1976, page 24, number 3-34.

Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, ‘Chinese Buddhist Stone Sculpture: Veneration of the Sublime’, Osaka, 1995, page 42, number 18.

See also:

‘Gongxian shikusi’, (Cave Sculptures of Gongxian), Beijing, 1963, pages 18 and 19, numbers 25 - 27 for the original location of the frieze.

Chen Mingda, ed., ‘Zhongguo meishu quanji; diaosu bian 13: Gongxian, Tianlongshan, Xiangtangshan, Anyang shiku diaoke’, (The Great Treasury of Chinese Art; Sculpture, volume 13: Gongxian, Tianlongshan, Xiangtangshan, Anyang – Cave Sculptures), Beijing, 1989, page 34, number 40 for what appears to be the original location with replacement figures.

Processions of devotees worshipping the Buddha became popular during the Northern Wei period, and are to be found at the Longmen, and Gongxian cave temples amongst others. At Gongxian, Caves 1, 3 and 4 are decorated with friezes of devotees on the interior, flanking the entrance; the first two caves have three tiers of carvings on each side of the entrance, but Cave 4 has four incomplete tiers. Of all the Gongxian caves, the processional carvings in Cave 1 are apparently both the most complete, and of the highest quality. The top and largest tiers represent the emperor (on the south-east wall) and the empress (on the south-western wall), each with entourage and attendants. Below the emperor are two panels representing male aristocrats and their attendants forming an impressive procession, while on the opposite side are the female aristocrats and their attendants, carved in two panels beneath the empress.1 It would appear that the original location for the present fragment was at the back of the second tier, below the empress.2

Artistically these friezes display great virtuosity both in their sculptural and compositional qualities, employing high, low and medium relief carving to give a sense of perspective and depth. The second tier on the south-west wall of Cave 1 demonstrates this well. The whole panel is framed on either side by a tree, while a Buddhist nun leads at the front of the procession, holding an incense burner. The scene is further divided into ‘cells’ which move the eye along in a rhythmic way. There are four main figures, shown by their greater size, of which the larger figure in the present fragment is one; each is followed by four smaller attendants. The groups are separated in each case by a large canopy or umbrella over the main figure, and an oval fan behind her. It is possible that such friezes were based on paintings, now lost, as has been suggested in the case of some of the processional scenes at Longmen.3

It appears that the excavation at Gongxian started around 517, the second year when Lady Hu (consort to Emperor Xuanwu) assumed regency as Dowager Ling. She ruled as regent for her son from 515 - 520 and again from 525 - 528. It is probable that Caves 1 and 2 were built for Xuanwu (posthumously) and Lady Hu, and that the imperial donors carved on the south wall in Cave 1 are portrayals of them.4 In addition, the friezes portray a cross-section of 6th century Chinese court society, all represented with a high degree of individuality.

1 Chen Mingda, ed., ‘Zhongguo meishu quanji; diaosu bian 13: Gongxian, Tianlongshan, Xiangtangshan, Anyang shiku diaoke’, (The Great Treasury of Chinese Art; Sculpture, volume 13: Gongxian, Tianlongshan, Xiangtangshan, Anyang – Cave Sculptures), Beijing, 1989, pages 11, 12 and 13, and numbers 40 - 60. See also, T. Akiyama and S. Matsubara, ‘Arts of China; Buddhist Cave Temples, new researches’, Tokyo, 1969, page 231 for a line drawing of the southern wall in Cave 1.

2 Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, ‘Chinese Buddhist Stone Sculpture: Veneration of the Sublime’, Osaka, 1995, page 42, number 18.

3 Jan Van Alphen ed., ‘The Buddha in the Dragon Gate’, Antwerp, 2001, pages 76 - 78.

4 See D. Wong, ‘Women as Buddhist Art Patrons during the Northern and Southern Dynasties’, in Wu Hung ed., ‘Between Han and Tang: Religious Art and Archaeology in a Transformative Period’, Beijing, 2000, page 545.